Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. (Ps. 68:4)
Expanded Passage: Psalm 68:1-6
Whoever said parenting gets easier the older your kid gets must not have been a parent at all. Sure, there is excitement and satisfaction when your little one transitions from diapers to using a toilet, but tougher lessons lurk at each new phase in life.
For young children, physical growth coincides with independence as they rely less and less on the parent. Yet, unlike the link between independence and physical growth, dependence is an indicator of spiritual maturity.
One of the best places to observe that dependence is through prayer. We are all needy, and we all tend to seek God’s assistance when things are going wrong. However, only the truly mature believers spend just as much time—if not a whole lot more—in prayers of gratitude and exaltation for all God has done for them.
Our son moved out on his eighteenth birthday. For the longest time, the only calls or text messages we received were related to things he wanted or needed. Money. Food. Clothing. Car repairs. However, more recently, that has changed. Now, we get calls or messages from him just asking how we are doing or thanking us for something we did in the past. Those moments are so fulfilling as a parent, and I imagine the same holds true for God and the type of praises we lift up to him.
Seek to honor and thank God in all you do.
John Zaktansky is the youth group leader at Port Ann Wesleyan Church in central Pennsylvania and oversees youth ministry at an annual family camp.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
